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Coroners rule heart attack as cause of death in Zak Kostopoulos probe

Two coroners called in to investigate the controversial circumstances that led to the death of LGBTQ activist Zak Kostopoulos in September have ruled that the 33-year-old suffered a fatal heart attack as a result of the brutal beating he received.

According to News 247, the 10-page report also confirmed that Kostopoulos was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he entered a downtown Athens jewelry store and was attacked by the business's owner and another man who allegedly mistook him for a robber.

Footage has shown the two men kicking Kostopoulos repeatedly in the head as he crawled out of the jewelry store through broken glass from a shattered display window. Witness testimonies and videos from the scene of the September 21 incident also pointed to him being kicked by at least one responding police officer as he lay on the ground motionless.

The latest report by two coroners examined the findings of an inconclusive autopsy carried out after the incident and detailed toxicological and tissue tests.

The report will now go to the magistrate who is investigating the case.

Kostopoulos’s relatives said they are planning to sue the ambulance service EKAB and the police’s motorcycle-riding unit DIAS over their response to the incident.